US deployment in the Red Sea - EU prepares support

Middle East war - US deployment in the Red Sea - EU prepares support

The EU is preparing to participate in the US initiative to secure merchant shipping in the Red Sea. According to the German Press Agency, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has made a proposal on how the mandate of the existing anti-piracy operation Atalanta could be extended for this purpose. It is currently being examined by the 27 EU member states and should be formalized as soon as possible.

At an EU meeting on Thursday, only Spain expressed reservations about the plan to change the mandate, according to diplomats. In Brussels, it is hoped that this is due to internal political differences in Madrid, which can be resolved quickly.

The "Prosperity Guardian" operation launched by the USA envisages a significant increase in the international military presence in the Red Sea.

Houthis attack ships in the Red Sea

After the start of the Gaza war, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea to prevent them from sailing towards Israel. The aim of the Houthis is to force an end to the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. Several EU states have already pledged bilateral support for the US initiative. However, Spain and Germany, among others, would like to see an EU mandate for participation.

According to EU diplomats, the new mandate should make it possible for warships from EU states to take part in monitoring the Red Sea. It is also conceivable that merchant ships could be accompanied by naval units equipped with defense systems against missiles and threats. On the other hand, it is considered unlikely that participation in proactive military operations against Houthi rebels is planned.

The Gaza war was triggered by the horrific terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7. They murdered more than 1200 people. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive.

USA: Over 20 countries participate in military alliance

According to the USA, more than 20 countries have so far agreed to participate in "Prosperity Guardian". The alliance includes the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and the Seychelles. Major shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the route, which accounts for around ten percent of all global trade.

People in Yemen demonstrate against US military initiative

Thousands of people in Yemen have taken to the streets to protest against the US-led military coalition in the Red Sea. The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency published numerous reports of demonstrations in major cities in the north of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. A military spokesman published photos of large gatherings of people in Sanaa. At the same time, a statement published by the Houthis warned countries to join the US coalition. They would respond to any hostile action.

UN: Hundreds of thousands in Gaza at risk of starvation

Although more trucks carrying aid are now arriving in the Gaza Strip again, aid organizations are complaining about a lack of access to people in need. A representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) recently told the US broadcaster CNN that as long as the fighting continued in areas where civilians were present, the Red Cross would not be able to get aid there.

In view of the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian situation in the sealed-off coastal strip is becoming increasingly catastrophic. Due to the "globally unprecedented" situation, the United Nations is warning that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians could die of starvation.

A new study by several UN agencies and other institutions published on Thursday concludes that 577,000 people in the sealed-off coastal strip fall into the most serious category of starvation. Almost all inhabitants are affected by hunger or displacement.

UN: No safe zones

Around 1.9 of the approximately 2.2 million inhabitants of the narrow Gaza Strip have had to leave their houses and apartments because of the fighting. Israel has called on them to move to safe zones that the Israeli military has marked on maps. However, there are no such zones, as the United Nations emphasizes.

More than 20,000 dead in the Gaza Strip

According to the health authority in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas, 20,057 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war. In the past two days alone, 390 people have been killed, the authority announced on Friday. A total of 53,320 people are said to have been injured. Most recently, the Hamas authority had spoken of at least 20,000 dead, but did not specify the number. Thousands of minors are also said to be among the victims. The information cannot currently be independently verified.

More than 12,000 people per square kilometer in southern Gaza

Hundreds of thousands of people are now living in the Gaza Strip in a very small area as a result of the evacuation of large swathes of land ordered by Israel. The population density in Rafah in the south is more than 12,000 people per square kilometer, reported the UN emergency aid office OCHA. This is four times as many as before the war began. For comparison: in Berlin, there are an average of around 4,100 people per square kilometer, in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, there are around 23,000 per square kilometer.

However, such zones do not exist, the United Nations emphasizes. A safe zone must at least offer accommodation, protection, sanitary facilities and sufficient food and drinking water. This is not the case anywhere. Some of the zones marked out by Israel are merely sidewalks. Buildings are completely overcrowded and many people are camping out in the open without shelter.

Dozens more foreigners to leave Gaza Strip

The departures of foreigners and Palestinians with second passports from the Gaza Strip are continuing. On Friday, dozens of people were to leave the sealed-off coastal area for Egypt, according to a list issued by the Palestinian border authority at the Rafah crossing. The list includes people with British, US and Mexican citizenship.

Since the beginning of the war more than two months ago, hundreds of foreigners and dual nationals have left the country via Rafah. According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in November, there were at times around 7,000 people from 60 countries in the Gaza Strip who wanted to leave.

Nouripour: International community must do more for Gaza

Green Party leader Omid Nouripour has called for more help for the people in the Gaza Strip. The situation there is appalling, he told the German Press Agency in Berlin. "It is intolerable that so many people, so many children in Gaza are starving because humanitarian access is not guaranteed. The international community must do much more to alleviate the suffering of the people on the ground."

At the same time, Israeli hostages are still in the hands of Hamas, which is also worrying, said Nouripour. "Humanitarian breaks and access are needed so that food and medicine can reach the people of Gaza and hostages can be released."

Reports: Israeli-American man dead in Hamas violence

According to newspaper reports, a 73-year-old man held by Hamas is dead. Terrorists murdered him on October 7 and took his body to the Gaza Strip, the newspapers Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post reported, citing his home town of Nir Oz. His body is still in the Gaza Strip. According to the media, the jazz musician had both US and Israeli citizenship. His wife, also a dual national, was also abducted to the Gaza Strip on October 7.

The couple were walking through the kibbutz at the time of the massacre. Terrorists had shot her husband in the head and her in the arm, the woman told neighbors on the phone when she called for help, according to the media. Since then, there has been no sign of life from either of them.

Bocelli writes to released hostage

According to media reports, Italian star tenor Andrea Bocelli has written a letter to a woman from Israel who was kidnapped in the Gaza Strip and later released. "I wish I could hug you," the 65-year-old wrote in the letter, as reported by Israeli media on Thursday evening. The 85-year-old had previously reported on Israeli television that she had hummed Bocelli's songs every morning during her captivity in order to pass the time. As a hostage, she had neither radio nor television.

"I would like to thank you for the emotions that your story has awakened in all the people who have had the privilege of hearing it, and especially in me, because, incredibly, I am a part of it," the letter from the blind tenor from Tuscany continued.

Bombardment from Lebanon: Israel attacks Hezbollah positions

According to the army, Israeli fighter jets have once again attacked positions of the Shiite militia Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The attack was in response to several rocket attacks by the militia on targets in northern Israel, the army announced.

Israeli artillery first fired on the positions from which the rockets had been fired. Israeli fighter jets then took off and attacked the rocket positions. In addition, "terror infrastructure" and Hezbollah military facilities were hit.

The Israeli military initially provided no information as to whether there were any deaths or injuries on the Israeli side as a result of the rocket attacks. The Shiite militia announced that its attacks had targeted Israeli barracks and troop concentrations in northern Israel.